Maria Fernandez Porrata came from Cuba when she was fifteen years of age with her family fleeing the communist system of government where the entire family suffered from persecution, totalitarian oppress ion, and deprivation of human rights. Maria attended Miami Killian Senior High School, Miami Dade College and Florida International University. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering while working full time to help with the family needs.
Maria Fernandez Porrata became an accomplished civil engineer in the field of transportation, a leader and manager with more than forty years of complex and varied management experience in both the private and public sectors. Maria worked with the Florida Department of Transportation District Six for fourteen years and the Village of Pinecrest as the Public Works Director for three years. She spent the last twenty six years in the Private sector involved in infrastructure transportation projects, public information and intensive infrastructure negotiations.
Maria Fernandez Porrata is a past president of the South Florida Women Transportation Seminar, the Miami-Dade Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers /ASCE, and, the Cuban American Association of Civil Engineers, where she continues as a Director Emeritus, receiving all the different awards that this organization presents, culminating with the highest award, the Francisco de Albear Lifetime Achievement Award.  She has received a myriad of other Industry awards, over the years from these organizations beginning with the “Engineer of the year” by ASCE  to  “Diversity & Community” Award from the American Public Works Association for her dedication to the profession. She is also the proud recipient of the most prestigious award that the Florida International University Alumni Association can bestow upon an individual: “The Torch Award” in Engineering and Computing.

Maria’s lifelong dedication to her Industry, Alma Matter, and, to Cuban causes preserving the culture and history of the Cuban Heritage has inspired many others to continue on her footsteps.

Maria is a proud mother of two wonderful young professionals, Cristina, and Carlos, and embodies family values in everything that she does, believing that anything is possible with hard work, dedication, faith, and love.